


let's pretend it isn't and see what happens

by talkingtoangels



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, SASO 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-07-10 20:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7005607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talkingtoangels/pseuds/talkingtoangels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yahaba looks from Kyoutani’s red face, to his averted gaze, to his clenched fists.</p><p>Yahaba touches his own lips, where he’d just been kissed not a minute ago.</p><p>He hears his phone go off in his bag. He knows that only one person has that notification tone in his contacts. He’d set it himself.</p><p>He dips his head down slightly.</p><p>“Sorry, Kyoutani, but I have a girlfriend.”</p><p>//</p><p>Or, <i>remember when you were too proud to admit that you made a mistake? You're a coward, to the end.</i></p><p>Written for SASO 2016 Bonus Round 1: Memory</p>
            </blockquote>





	let's pretend it isn't and see what happens

Yahaba looks from Kyoutani’s red face, to his averted gaze, to his clenched fists.

Yahaba touches his own lips, where he’d just been kissed not a minute ago.

He hears his phone go off in his bag. He knows that only one person has that notification tone in his contacts. He’d set it himself.

He dips his head down slightly.

“Sorry, Kyoutani, but I have a girlfriend.”

\--

“You did what?”

“I turned him down,” Yahaba says, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“Why would you do that?” Watari looks scandalized, as if Yahaba had just told him that he’s moving to Brazil.

Yahaba rolls his eyes.”Because, I have a girlfriend. It’s not like you don’t know.”

“Yeah, but- but-” Watari frowns, trailing off. Yahaba raises an eyebrow at him.

Watari sighs, setting his water bottle down and turning to head back to the court.

They don’t talk anymore for the rest of practice. But right before they split off for their first class, Watari shoots him a look, mumbles something, and disappears into his classroom.

_“You’re making a mistake.”_

“No, I’m not,” Yahaba mumbles to himself as he sits down at his desk.

\--

“Yahaba-kun, did you like the cookies I made you?” his girlfriend asks, arm around his as they walk through the courtyard.

“I did, they were good,” he replies.

His girlfriend smiles, looking down. “I'm glad. I worked hard on them.”

Yahaba’s about to reply when a blur at the corner of his vision catches his eye.

It's Kyoutani, he realizes. He's watching Yahaba, a strange look on his face. When he sees Yahaba looking back at him, he immediately turns around and walks away. Yahaba pretends not to know what that was about.

“What are you looking at?” His girlfriend leans around him just in time to catch sight of Kyoutani disappearing.

“Oh, Kyoutani?” she muses. “You guys are on the volleyball team together, right? I heard he gets into fights a lot, it's best not to get involved with someone like him.”

“Really?” Yahaba absentmindedly asks.

She ducks her head shyly. “Yeah. I'm only looking out for you, Yahaba-kun. I care about you a lot.”

Yahaba takes her hand. “I know.”

\--

“I saw you with your girlfriend at the mall over the weekend.” Yahaba’s surprised when he hears Kyoutani say this one morning.

“Oh. I didn't see you, though.” he replies.

“Well, I didn't want to bother you on your date,” Kyoutani mumbles. Then, almost like an afterthought, “You looked happy.”

“Did I?” Yahaba says to himself. Kyoutani must have heard, though, because he averts his gaze and nods.

“Uh, I’m glad I didn’t make things… awkward or whatever between you guys,” Kyoutani says, and when Yahaba looks back, he sees that Kyoutani’s stopped walking.

Yahaba turns so he’s facing Kyoutani fully. He takes note of the way Kyoutani won’t look at him, how tightly he’s gripping the strap of his bag, and the stiffness in his whole posture.

“Don’t worry,” Yahaba says. “I didn’t tell her.”

Kyoutani looks surprised. “You didn’t?”

“Nope.” Yahaba starts walking again. “She doesn’t need to know, because it doesn’t concern her.”

\--

The next day at practice, Kyoutani sprains his finger when the ball bounces off wrong on his block.

Yahaba’s the one that gets the sports tape and bandage him up. Sitting on the sidelines together, Kyoutani doesn't meet his eye the whole time.

Yahaba chooses not to comment on that, instead gently chastising Kyoutani for hurting himself.

“What do you care?” Kyoutani asks, voice rough.

Yahaba tips his head. “I care a lot. I thought you knew that.”

It seems that Kyoutani doesn't know how to respond to that, because he's gone with a huff, leaving Yahaba by himself.

\--

“Do you want to come to my house and study?” he asks Kyoutani one Monday.

Kyoutani looks at him in bewilderment. “Study?”

“Yeah. You do that, right?” Yahaba teases.

“Um, sure.” Kyoutani awkwardly scratches at his arm. “Won’t your girlfriend mind, though?”

Yahaba pauses, and thinks. He feels his phone buzz in his pocket, and knows who it’s from.

“Well,” he says at last. “She doesn’t have to know, does she?”

\--

“I can’t believe this,” Watari says to him.

“You can’t believe what?” Yahaba asks without lifting his eyes from his book.

When he does look up, though, he sees the skeptical look Watari’s giving him over the seat. He pretends not to know what his friend is trying to say. He looks back down at his book.

“I just… I can’t believe you, Yahaba. Clearly, you feel the same way about him. I’ve seen it, everyone’s seen it!” Watari gestures to the rest of the bus to emphasize his point. “So I just don’t understand why you’re doing this!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.” Watari sighs, and now he looks less frustrated and more… sad. “To be honest, I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but I don’t think it’s doing anyone any favours.”

Yahaba ignores him, and Watari reluctantly sits back down. Kyoutani stirs on his shoulder, but doesn’t wake up.

When the ride’s over, Yahaba gently shakes Kyoutani awake. He pretends he doesn’t see the blush on Kyoutani’s face when he realizes he’s been sleeping on Yahaba’s shoulder, even though there’s a strange, sinking feeling in his chest.

He doesn’t think too hard about it, because he knows what he’ll find, and he refuses to acknowledge what it means.

\--

 _Yahaba-kun, do you want to go to the café after your practice?_ the text message reads.

The keyboard is open, and the cursor is flashing in the reply box. Yahaba’s fingers linger over the keys on the screen.

“Hey,” Kyoutani asks. “Do you want to go to my house, this time?”

Yahaba hasn’t been to Kyoutani’s house before. They’ve always gone to his, whenever they studied.

“Okay,” says his mouth.

 _I can’t, sorry_ , says his fingers. _I’m busy tonight._

\--

“Yahaba-kun, can I talk to you about something?” his girlfriend asks one lunch, fiddling with her skirt.

“Sure,” he says, standing up and following her.

She leads him out into the empty courtyard beside the gym. He doesn’t say anything, just waits for her to start talking.

“You’ve been kind of… distant, lately,” she says. “I was wondering if everything was okay.”

“Of course,” he replies. He doesn’t know why anything wouldn’t be okay.

She doesn’t look convinced, though, and continues, “I noticed you’ve been blowing me off recently.”

He stiffens, not knowing what to say. She’s right, but he doesn’t want to tell her that.

“Do you-” she stops, as if unsure. “Do you want to break up?”

Yahaba’s shocked, to say the least. He thinks about what he could say. He could say yes, he did want to break up, and stop the trips to dessert cafés and shopping malls with her, and instead have convenience store fried chicken and puppy movies with him. He entertains the thought of more kisses with a pair of rough lips, and handholding with calloused hands.

Reality comes crashing down when he remembers that saying _Yes, I want to break up_ , meant admitting to Watari that he’d been wrong, and it meant _I’m sorry_ ’s and _Please tell me you still want me_ ’s.

Squaring his shoulders, he musters up the brightest smile that he can.

“Of course not. Whatever gave you that idea?”

On the way back to their classrooms, Yahaba pretends that he doesn’t see Kyoutani around the corner, the look on his face a clear indication that he’d heard the whole thing.

**Author's Note:**

> “Hello, Rabbit,' he said, 'is that you?'  
> 'Let's pretend it isn't,' said Rabbit, 'and see what happens.”
> 
>  
> 
> ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh


End file.
